Final Run
ADAMS TWP — One good run deserves another — at least the Mars boys lacrosse team thought so.
The Planets saw their 7-3 halftime lead evaporate when North Allegheny scored six straight goals, giving the Tigers a 9-7 edge with 10:28 remaining in Monday's non-section game at the Mars Athletic Complex.
“It started with penalties,” Mars coach Bob Marcoux said of his team's lull on both ends of the field. “It's tough to play when you're a man down. We were having trouble clearing the ball and with groundballs.”
But there was a lot of time left and when Anthony Grieco broke NA's momentum with a goal with 10:14 left on the clock, it sparked Mars to a 6-0 run of its own as the Planets (9-1) went on to earn their eighth consecutive win, 13-10.
Grieco's tally was his lone goal of the game. He is Mars' leading scorer on the season.
“I don't think NA did anything special against Anthony,” said Marcoux. “They just have a very aggressive defense.”
Brendan Moyer scored Mars' ninth goal to tie the game. Andrew Moyer and Doyle combined for four goals to cap the win. The Tigers' attack, which was very effective during the team's third-quarter run, managed just one goal in the final 10 minutes of the game — Wes Powell's score with 23 seconds left in the game.
“We knew we could beat them,” said Mars' Mike Doyle, who scored three times later in the final quarter, “but we had to first get the momentum back. We kept after them, kept pushing.”
The Planets opened the game with four goals from four different players in the first four-and-a-half minutes of the game. Andrew Moyer, Daniel O'Connell, Brendan Moyer and Hayden Vasbinder each found the net to put Mars up early.
“We have a lot of plays and we run them so well,” said Doyle. “We have players who can do so many different things on the field and it showed early on tonight.”
Powell's first goal of the game with 3:45 left in the opening quarter got the Tigers (6-5) on the board, They trailed 4-2 at the end of the period and 7-3 at halftime.
“We're a young team, mostly sophomores and juniors,” said NA coach John Rullan. “That makes it tough. We brought the intensity in the third quarter, but the key is sustaining it and we were unable to do that tonight.”
Mars goalie Will Scurci totaled seven saves while NA's Aiden Miller stopped eight shots.
For Mars, the defending WPIAL Class 2A champion, it was the fourth out of six games this season against Class 3A teams. The Planets' lone loss this year was a 12-11 setback March 29 against 3A power Pine-Richland.
“We want to play against the best,” Marcoux said. “If we make the state playoffs again, we'll be facing good teams from the central and eastern part of the state. There's a lot of good 3A teams in this area.”
